Walking or Running, Which Is Better for You

When you compare running to walking, both offer so many similar benefits, one has to wonder why anyone would not be doing one or the other. There are just so many ways that both running and walking are beneficial to our health that it only makes sense to make that a part of one's daily activities.

There are good reasons one might prefer walking over running. There are also good reasons to choose to be a runner, or a jogger, which is generally considered to be slower than running, but faster than walking. If you are exercising for weight loss, one thing to consider is that walkers do need to walk farther than runners run in order to burn the same number of calories.

Benefits from running and walking are many. There's a reduced risk of hypertension, can be a decrease in cholesterol, a lower risk of diabetes, and a decreased risk of developing coronary artery disease. Both exercises are good to help with weight loss and to help you win the "battle of the bulge."

Running and walking can help your bones by increasing bone density, and preventing both muscle and bone loss.

Either running or walking may strengthen the heart, lower disease risk, help keep your weight in check, help prevent dementia, tone the legs and arms, give you energy, and make you happy. In addition, by doing your exercising outside in the daylight, it will increase your level of Vitamin D.

Running maintains the elasticity of arteries, since when you run, your arteries expand and contract nearly 3 times more than usual. Running raises the HDL or good cholesterol, reduces the risk of blood clots, and encourages the use of the fifty per cent of your lungs that normally are not used.

Running boosts the immune system, relieves stress, and reduces the risk of stroke and breast cancer. Because endorphins are released with running, a runner may experience what is referred to as "runner's high."

Some people may choose to walk and not run because of some kind of knee or leg pain. While running generally will not cause arthritis, if you already have arthritis or suffer some kind of pain, running could make it worse. Being overweight could make running harder on your joints, too. For every pound that a person weighs, when running it is like putting another 4 pounds on your joints. Otherwise, for a 100 pound person, it puts 400 pounds on the knees when running.

Running is a weight-bearing exercise and can help prevent osteoporosis and osteo arthritis. Repetitive weight-bearing and motion are actually good for the joints.

If you have not been a runner or a walker, remember the rule, you don't want to go "too far too fast too soon." Work up to your pace and distance. You just might be amazed about how good you can feel after a vigorous work-out!

As we age, in order to maintain optimum health, the body seems to have a higher requirement for nutrition and exercise. One way to increase nutrition is to add vitamin & mineral supplements.